Bottoms Up!
by btamamura
Summary: Oscar and Tomomasa decide to help Luva, Lumiale, Yasuaki and Eisen increase their alcohol tolerance with surprising results. Luva x Lumiale, Yasuaki x Eisen. Rated for alcohol-use.


_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Harukanaru Toki no Naka de or Angelique, nor any of the mentioned characters. Haruka is property of Mizuno Tooko-san and Angelique is property of Kairi Yura-san. If I owned the series, there'd be more shounen-ai potential._

_**I do not encourage drinking large amounts of alcohol until you pass out. However, this is meant to be considered a humour/romance fic, so please don't take much of this seriously. Thank you.**_

They'd learned it at a party the two groups had. It was just meant to be a quiet affair, but when Olivie volunteers to do the planning, one should expect it would be otherwise. And, unfortunately because he'd planned it, that meant alcohol was there. Only Shimon, Inori and Marcel were excused from not having any as they were too young; Olivie didn't know Yasuaki would be considered that as well. He prepared non-alcoholic wine for the younger teenagers. But, everybody else, they couldn't escape.

Unfortunately, nobody seemed to realise those four couldn't hold their liquor, so before the party even got into full-swing, Luva was already chatting animatedly about whatever came to mind, even if it turned out to be nonsense he wouldn't normally bring up in a conversation with anybody. Yasuaki had to be monitored to make absolutely certain he wouldn't use onmyoudo on anybody by accident. Eisen and Lumiale just sat to the side talking to each other in slurred tones, letting out chuckles that sounded more like giggles, and hiccups every so often.

It wasn't long after the alcohol started to take effect on almost everyone else, minus the non-drinkers and Olivie, that the four who were first to be intoxicated had fallen asleep. Yasuaki fell asleep as Luva spoke to him about butterflies and honey, and soon the Chi no Shugosei joined him. Lumiale and Eisen quietly snored as they leaned against each other for support.

Olivie sighed and shook his head. "Seriously, those four are real lightweights. They only had one glass!"

Everybody awoke the next morning, though most woke on the floor of the party room. Heads were pounding, nausea settled in, even those normally in a good mood when they first wake didn't want anybody to talk to them. Even whispers thrummed through their minds as if someone was shouting at the top of their lungs in their ears. They all looked around and saw they were still in the party room, no wonder they didn't feel very comfortable. They stopped moving their heads, dizziness was overtaking them.

The door opened quietly and in walked Marcel, Shimon and Inori carrying trays that held glasses of water and aspirin, perfect to help soothe those nasty things called hangovers. They wordlessly handed a glass of water and two aspirin to each of their friends before leaving again and letting them continue to rest.

Oscar crossed his arms and leaned against the fence. He was feeling much better now, actually, all those who'd suffered from a hangover earlier was up and about continuing like normal. Good thing it was Sunday, none of the Shugosei really felt up to doing any work, not even Julious. Oscar turned to Tomomasa. "Wild party, huh?"

Tomomasa nodded. It was more wild than he was used to at least, even if nobody wound up being so drunk they danced with a lampshade on their heads or thought running around buck-naked would be a good idea. They'd all passed out before then. Worst was Zephel singing karaoke off-key and being joined by Tenma, Yorihisa and Randy, who also sang off-key and with a lot of slurring to their words. "I seriously had no idea how much Luva-dono could talk."

The Shugosei nodded. "I can't believe he actually started to talk about a hole in one of his socks. For five whole minutes. Without stuttering or repeating himself."

The imperial general chuckled. "Though it was rather amusing listening to him going on about anything that came to mind."

"Still, it was pretty pathetic those four got like that after their first glass. Eisen-sama isn't a big drinker?"

"This is the first time he's had to join us in drinking. After all, Olivie-dono wouldn't take no for an answer. I'm more amazed with Yasuaki-dono though. I would've thought that he would at least be able to hold out until the same time as Olivie-dono."

"Lumiale didn't surprise me. I had a feeling he was a lightweight. You know, we should help them increase their tolerance."

"Well, it would be less-embarrassing for them next time there's a party like that. Very well, what do you have in mind, Oscar-dono?"

"Actually, Marcel is guarding a wine cellar."

"Marcel-dono is?"

"It belonged to Catis-sama, he was the previous Midori no Shugosei. He entrusted it to Marcel."

"So, your plan is sneak in when he's not looking, grab some bottles of wine..."

"Then we take the four lightweights back to my manor and start giving them the alcohol to help build their tolerance levels."

"I suppose Lumiale-dono would be suspicious?"

Oscar shrugged. "He can be suspicious all he likes. He's not a woman, so he doesn't interest me in that way."

"I never made such an implication."

"Well, whatever. Luva-sama won't be suspicious. What about Eisen-sama and Yasuaki?"

"Yasuaki just goes with whatever he's told to do. Sad, really. As for Eisen-sama, he will come along willingly as well. I wonder though if this will cause him to lose trust in me."

"I'll just say it was my idea. Which it was, so I won't be lying."

"Hmm...maybe we shouldn't do it at your manor. How about Luva-dono or Lumiale-dono's manor instead? They'd probably feel better waking there after passing out."

"Luva-sama's manor it is."

Tomomasa knew Oscar would say that.

As luck would have it, the four they were hoping to help were at Lumiale's manor, talking quietly and drinking tea. That was much better for them after all. Well, three of them were talking quietly at least, Yasuaki just listened, but intervened when something caught his attention.

Oscar and Tomomasa entered the large garden and approached the four sitting at a table. "Good day," Tomomasa greeted while Oscar waved slightly in greeting.

"Ah, Tomomasa-dono!" Eisen smiled at the sight of his friend. "What brings you here?"

Lumiale nodded. "Yes. Surely, Oscar, you would rather be seen elsewhere instead of at my manor. Are you not worried about your reputation being ruined?"

Oscar let out a small cry of alarm. Once again, Lumiale managed to get one over on him. Luva chuckled to himself, not surprised by the exchange.

"Actually, Oscar-dono is here to help you, as am I," Tomomasa replied.

What help could they be offering? Well, they were the playboys, so maybe it had something to do with finding a girlfriend. "I'm sorry, but I would rather not use Oscar's choice of words when it comes to speaking with a woman."

"What's wrong with my words?" Oscar demanded to know.

Lumiale wore a sweet smile on his face and chuckled lightly before having a sip of his tea. "It seems you have not realised your words are about as effective as someone using a magnet to pick up a piece of paper."

Again! _How do I manage to let him get me like that? And how can he say that with such a sweet smile on his face? He's evil inside, I just know it!_

Tomomasa had to chuckle at Lumiale's comment. "Oh no, it doesn't have anything to do with finding a woman. This is concerning last night."

They froze and looked up at him. "Did...did we do anything embarrassing last night?" Eisen asked.

"Well, Luva-dono did talk about a hole in his socks, but other than that, no. That was done by Zephel-dono, Tenma, Yorihisa and Randy-dono."

"Then, why do we need help?" Yasuaki asked.

"Unfortunately, you missed a lot of the party. You only had one glass and passed out just as everyone else was being affected."

"We're going to build your tolerance levels," Oscar added.

"How would you do that?" Lumiale asked a little warily. What did they have up their sleeves?

"Easy. You can't handle it because you don't drink enough of it. So, we're going to have you drink up and soon you'll be able to join the rest of us."

Eisen glanced at Tomomasa. "Is that really so?"

"It was my idea, Tomomasa's just going with it. Look, you really missed out on the fun last night. Do you want to avoid that?"

"Not really," Yasuaki replied immediately. He didn't even have to think about it.

"Look. Last night, you missed a great show because you passed out long before anybody else. I hate to say it, but the four of you are real lightweights when it comes to drinking alcohol."

"Nothing will happen if we take up your offer?"

"Most that will happen is you may get a hangover the next morning. We want to build your tolerance levels, not harm you."

"Ah, but as I can recall, too much alcohol is a bad thing for the human body," Luva commented.

"If you're going past your limits, we'll stop you and let you take it easy."

The four of them exchanged looks before nodding. "Very well. As long as you can promise nothing will happen to any of us aside from the usual side-effects of too much alcohol intake."

"Deal! Luva-sama, we'll do this at your manor. You'll feel better waking in a familiar surrounding, and I know a certain someone would rather not visit my manor."

"Alright then."

"And it would be best to do this at night. So, see you there when the sun sets." Oscar turned to leave.

Tomomasa bowed to them before he turned and joined Oscar.

The four of them exchanged looks again. "Will we really be alright?" Lumiale asked.

"Mondai nai. Tomomasa would never let anything happen to Eisen. And though you and Oscar don't like each other, he still wouldn't put a fellow Shugosei in harm's way intentionally."

"What about you, Yasuaki?" Luva asked of the onmyouji.

"Mondai nai."

Eisen smiled reassuringly. "It is as Yasuaki-dono just said. They would never put us in harm's way intentionally." He then turned to the onmyouji. "You didn't mention yourself."

"I can look after myself. Mondai nai."

The other three thought the same thing. _We'll have to look out for him if he thinks nobody else will._

That night, they all met at Luva's manor. Oscar had managed to bring at least two bottles of wine, knowing they wouldn't need very many. They were in Luva's living room sitting on the sofas. Eisen looked a little apprehensive. Yasuaki noticed this and quickly, subtly reached out and patted the monk's hand gently to offer silent reassurance.

"Alright, we've seen you after only one glass, so here's what we're going to do. First, you will have the one glass, but you will nurse it. In other words, no finishing it right away, it has to last for at least twenty minutes. Or until the ice has melted."

Tomomasa set out the glasses and put ice in them, before he and Oscar poured some wine into each. "This has low alcohol content, so it is fine for you to have."

The four of them picked up their glasses and had a sip. The flavour was alright, they would admit that. But, maybe Oscar grabbed the wrong bottle, they were already feeling a buzz. "How much content is in that?" Yasuaki asked.

"Only about 5%. Why?"

"I feel strange."

The playboys exchanged a look. _Already?!_

Tomomasa had a look at the bottle. "Oscar-dono, you grabbed the wrong bottle."

"What do you mean?"

Tomomasa dusted off the decimal point. It wasn't 5%, it was 50%! "I mean that dust particle fooled you."

"Oh, crap."

Luva opened his mouth and started to spout nonsense about a spider climbing up a spout, growing wings and flying away. Yasuaki fell forward and rested against the table. Eisen let out numerous hiccups, while Lumiale found his emotions starting to get the better of him.

Oscar blinked. He never knew Lumiale was an emotional drunk. He'd never seen him this bad before.

Yasuaki turned to the Mizu no Shugosei. "Why are you cryin'?"

Lumiale shook his head. "I've...I've always loved you...but you never noticed. What did I have to do for you to notice me, Luva-sama?"

Luva didn't hear the drunken confession. He was going on about wallabies having a picnic with teddy bears.

Everybody else heard it though. Eisen got out of his seat and moved to Lumiale, wrapping his arms around him. "I...I know how you *hic!* feel, Lumiale-dono."

Yasuaki closed his eyes and rested his head on the table, unable to stand seeing everything spinning anymore.

Lumiale looked up at the monk. "Eisen-sama?"

"I know what it's like to not be noticed by...*hic!* by someone you love. Yasuaki-dono never seems to notice my feelings for him."

"Eisen-sama..."

"Lumiale-dono...*hic!*"

Oscar and Tomomasa watched as the harpist and flutist cried into each other's shoulders, moaning about how the ones they love never seem to notice. "Well, that was unexpected," Oscar commented.

"Not quite. I had a feeling Eisen-sama was in love with Yasuaki-dono. Why do you think they're glued at the hip?"

Oscar was about to reply when Luva brought up the history of glue, only his version included magical rainbow pixies and talking flowers. Oscar shook his head. "Sheesh, what's with him? Is this everything that he keeps in his mind but is afraid to say?"

"Alcohol has loosened his tongue. Let's keep watching to see what will happen next. Besides, we'll need to move them when they pass out completely." He looked at the onmyouji who had his head resting on the coffee table. "Is he alright?"

Oscar had a close look. "Yeah, just asleep."

"At least he didn't use any onmyoudo this time around."

Luva continued to talk about rainbows and ponies that talk, Lumiale and Eisen were still crying about not having their feelings noticed, and Yasuaki continued to rest on the coffee table.

"No more?"

"Good idea, Oscar-dono." Tomomasa took the glasses from the four who were too busy to even notice.

Lumiale and Eisen fell asleep after crying for a good twenty minutes, still upset about their feelings not being noticed. Yasuaki was starting to snore loudly. Luva dozed off as he finished his lecture about why liederhosen should be illegal. The two remaining exchanged looks and nodded. Oscar carried Luva to his bedroom while Tomomasa tried to carefully separate Lumiale and Eisen and lay them on the sofas. He then thought about what to do with Yasuaki.

Oscar returned a few minutes later. "Lumiale's asleep?"

"Yes."

"Good. He'd never let me carry him."

"What are you going to do?"

"Matchmaking." He approached Lumiale and scooped him into his arms. "Yasuaki needs somewhere to sleep anyway, so I've made the other sofa vacant."

Tomomasa nodded and moved Yasuaki to the other sofa. "Where's Luva-dono's medicine cabinet?"

"The bathroom. Follow me, it's near his bedroom."

Tomomasa got to his feet and did so.

Eisen let out a whimper in his sleep. "Why won't you notice my feelings for you?" he murmured.

Yasuaki wasn't awake, nor did he hear his partner. But, he still responded. "I have, and I return them. Aishiteru, Eisen."

Eisen didn't hear the onmyouji's mumbled response.

Tomomasa took the box of aspirin out of the medicine cabinet. "They're really going to need this in the morning." He followed Oscar to Luva's bedroom and while the Shugosei was easing Lumiale onto the bed before putting the covers over him, Tomomasa popped out a couple of pills and put them in a small cup before placing them on the nightstand next to Luva. He did the same on Lumiale's side. "I need you to get the water."

"Right." Oscar left and went to get two glasses of water that his fellow Shugosei could use to rinse down the aspirin. He returned to the bedroom and placed them on the nightstands. "I've already set out the glasses for Yasuaki and Eisen-sama."

"Okay. I'll leave them some aspirin, then we can leave them rest." They made their way back to the living room and Tomomasa left four pills, two for each of them, before he and Oscar left Luva's manor.

Yasuaki was the first to stir. He sat up slowly and rubbed his head. _That is the last time I agree to a plan formed by Oscar and Tomomasa._ He saw the aspirin and water. _At least they thought that through._ He picked up the small cup that held the pills, tipped them into his mouth and drank down the glass of water slowly as he swallowed the pills. Too fast and he wouldn't be very well. Not that he wasn't anyway. At least the spinning stopped. He heard murmuring coming from his partner.

"Why? I love you, why haven't you noticed how I feel for you? Why, Yasuaki-dono?"

The onmyouji blinked. Eisen was in love with him? And all this time he was worried Eisen didn't return his feelings. He moved to the other sofa and lightly stroked Eisen's hair. "You never noticed my feelings for you, Eisen. I've been waiting to know if you returned them." He leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Eisen's eyes fluttered open. "Y-Yasuaki-dono?"

Yasuaki smiled gently. "How do you feel?"

"My head is throbbing. What happened?"

"I think they grabbed the wrong wine." He handed Eisen the small cup. "It's aspirin."

Eisen tipped them into his mouth and accepted the glass of water. He too remembered to take it easy. He lay back down again. "I hope I didn't do anything embarrassing last night."

"I am unsure if any of us did." He gave Eisen a kiss on the cheek.

Eisen blushed. "Y-Yasuaki-dono?!"

"I have been waiting for you to return my feelings for you."

Eisen blinked and when it clicked in, he closed his eyes and sighed. "I did do something last night."

"No, I heard it this morning."

He opened his eyes slightly, the light was one of the worst things for one with a hangover. "Do you really mean to say you have feelings for me?"

"Yes. I love you, Eisen."

Eisen smiled sweetly. "I love you as well, Yasuaki-dono. I only hope it's not a dream."

Yasuaki kissed Eisen on the forehead again. "I can assure you it is not."

"I'm glad." Eisen gave Yasuaki a kiss on the cheek as well before closing his eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry, but I need to sleep some more."

Yasuaki nodded. "Mondai nai. I too feel tired." He returned to the sofa he slept on, lay back down and closed his eyes.

Luva stirred and put a couple of fingers to his head. _What happened? Oh yes, I remember now. Oscar and Tomomasa tried to increase our tolerance levels when it comes to alcohol. They must've selected the wrong wine by mistake._ He saw the aspirin and water on the nightstand. _Thank you very much for leaving this._ He tipped the pills into his mouth and had some water to wash them down. After feeling they'd gone down, he had a bit more water just to make sure. He felt he might need the water again later. He lay back down and saw Lumiale was in the bed as well. _Did something happen last night? No, it couldn't have._

Lumiale also stirred and sat up slowly, letting out a low moan as pain shot through his skull.

"There is aspirin for you on the nightstand. I believe Oscar and Tomomasa left it."

The Mizu no Shugosei gratefully took the pills and drank some of the water slowly, leaving some for later. He lay back down again and turned away from the nightstand. "Luva-sama?"

Luva nodded. "Good morning."

Lumiale's eyes widened. If it wasn't for a headache preventing it, he would've sat up quickly. _Please don't tell me...I must've said something last night concerning my feelings for Luva-sama, and then Oscar... _He closed his eyes.

Luva became concerned when he saw Lumiale's shoulders start to shake. "Are you cold?"

Lumiale shook his head.

That's when Luva saw the tears. "Lumiale, what's the matter?"

The younger man shook his head again. "It's...it's nothing."

"Nothing wouldn't make you cry. You can tell me."

"I can't..."

Luva shifted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "It's alright, you can tell me."

Lumiale tried to bite back his sobs, but it wasn't working. "Oscar and I don't like each other much, this is true. But, he didn't have to go this far."

"What do you mean?"

"I must've said something last night when we were under the influence of the wine. I must've, there is no way Oscar would've known if I hadn't said anything."

Despite being a bit hungover, and despite it being morning, Luva's mind clicked eventually. "Lumiale...are you saying you have feelings for me, and you said it last night?"

Lumiale nodded. "I do. I do have feelings for you. I'm in love with you. That's why it hurt that Oscar pulled such a mean joke."

"Oh, Lumiale, it may not be that bad. To admit, I was pleasantly surprised to see you here. Do you know why?"

The younger looked up at the older and shook his head.

Luva's response was a kiss on the forehead. "Because I love you too."

"Luva-sama..."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you. But, I find it hard to cope in a situation like this, someone I have feelings for returning them. I needed time to compose myself and prepare to tell you. But..."

The younger smiled gently and kissed Luva on the cheek. "Just knowing you return my feelings is enough, Luva-sama."

They exchanged tender smiles before they felt themselves start to doze. They continued to sleep, only this time, they were holding each other.

Tomomasa and Oscar found themselves watching the double-date the four of them were on and smiling. "One good thing came out of my mistake at least," Oscar remarked.

Tomomasa shook his head and tapped his fan against his jaw. "No, two good things came out of your mistake."


End file.
